


the way your smile makes me stay for a while

by Shadowcrawler



Series: Endgame Whomst [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Femslash, Femslash February, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Remarriage, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29838096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcrawler/pseuds/Shadowcrawler
Summary: “Maya?” The name is out of her mouth before she even realizes it.The woman standing before her looks different than Pepper remembers her: her shoulders slump a little more, her hair is darker, her face is thinner and has a haunted look to it. But it’s definitely Maya Hansen.
Relationships: Maya Hansen & Morgan Stark, Maya Hansen/Pepper Potts, Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Series: Endgame Whomst [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2197281
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10
Collections: Femslash February





	the way your smile makes me stay for a while

**Author's Note:**

> I was trying to finish this for Femslash February but lol it's a little late. Oh well!
> 
> This is a loose interpretation of the "Adopting a Child" square of my MCU Femslash Bingo square. I had been considering adding a bit where Maya legally adopts Morgan, but apparently that removes the deceased parent from the birth certificate and I felt like that might cause some weird legal issues wrt the Stark inheritance, so it's an emotional/symbolic adoption instead. 
> 
> Also, I love Maya and as far as I'm concerned she's still alive.

Pepper stands in front of the aisle of flower arrangements, a little overwhelmed. This is the kind of thing she would normally have had her secretary handle, but, well, she can’t have Bambi order her _own_ goodbye bouquet, can she? And, after all, Bambi’s been with Stark for over a decade; she deserves something special. So here Pepper is, staring at all of these bouquets. 

Should she get roses? Not just roses, that would look odd. Maybe something with yellow or white roses mixed in, though. She should have done some research into the meaning of flowers before she came.

She’s debating asking an employee for their input when she spots someone coming down the aisle to her right. Automatically, her head whips up at the movement, and - she finds herself looking at a ghost.

“Maya?” The name is out of her mouth before she even realizes it. 

The woman standing before her looks different than Pepper remembers her: her shoulders slump a little more, her hair is darker, her face is thinner and has a haunted look to it. But it’s definitely Maya Hansen. 

Maya takes a step back. “I’m sorry, you’ve got the wrong person,” she mumbles, turning away. 

“No, Maya, wait,” Pepper pleads. It suddenly feels important for her to talk to Maya right now. “I just want to talk for a minute, please.” 

Maya hesitates, biting her lip. “Why?” she asks finally. “It’s been over a decade, Pepper.”

It has, and Pepper is all too aware of it. It feels like an eternity ago, that night they spent in the hotel room, waiting for word from Tony. The night that Killian barged in, and she learned that Maya had lured her there as bait. Pepper should still be angry about that, and yet… “I know,” she says. “I just…” She trails off. “You must have heard about Tony.”

Maya nods. “Of course I heard. I’m...sorry.”

A year and a half, and she’s finally able to talk about it - _him -_ without having to talk around a lump in her throat. “Thank you. How…” She tries again. “What have you been doing?” 

It’s an idiotic question, and she half expects Maya to laugh at her, or curse her out. Instead, Maya just shrugs. “Laying low. Trying not to fuck up my life again.”

“You didn’t-“

“No, I did,” Maya interrupts her. “I tried to do something I thought would help people and instead I got them killed. I almost got _myself_ killed. And when I woke up and looked in the mirror afterwards, I didn’t recognize myself.”

Pepper swallows. “I don’t blame you,” she says. “For what happened, I mean.”

“Thanks, but I do,” Maya says with a sigh. “I’ve spent years trying to...atone, I guess. If I can even do that. I work in crop science now.” Her tone turns ironic. “Might as well use my genetic coding skills and my botany degree to try and actually do some good, huh?”

“Sure.” Pepper’s still having trouble processing all of this. “Uh, that’s great!” Her voice sounds fake-bright and she winces. “Honestly,” she adds, “I’m glad to see you. Do you…” She clears her throat. “I’m here for one of my employees, but after I finish, I haven’t had lunch yet, if you want to…?”

Maya’s quiet for a long moment - so long that Pepper’s sure she’ll say no. Instead, Maya laughs and says, “What the hell. I’ll go to lunch with you, Potts.”

—-

“I should have died,” Maya says, almost cheerful as she pokes at the remnants of her chicken salad. “No idea how I didn’t. The resilience of the human spirit, I guess.”

That makes Pepper chuckle. “That’s one way to put it. Tony would have said you were too stubborn to die.” 

“He wouldn’t be wrong.” Maya coughs before adding, “Your daughter is beautiful, by the way.”

“Oh, thank you. She’s too smart for her own good.” Pepper smiles and rolls her eyes fondly. “Almost seven and she’s sure she knows everything.”

“She takes after her dad, then,” says Maya, and then looks regretful. “Sorry, that was-”

Pepper shakes her head. “It’s true. She reminds me of him, every single day. It’s so cheesy but it feels like there’s still some of him here, you know?” Snorting, she adds, “That sounds ridiculous.”

“Maybe, but I think you’re allowed to sound a little ridiculous.” Maya smirks. “You can’t be Pepper Potts, CEO and supermom, all the time.”

“Please. It’s been more of the former and less of the latter, lately.” 

“Still,” argues Maya. “You’re doing better than I would in your shoes. Hell, I can barely keep plants alive.”

“But I thought you work in-”

“I know!” Maya laughs. “It’s so stupid. But I almost killed the succulents they gave me as an office-warming present. I definitely shouldn’t be trusted with a small, defenseless human.”

Pepper smiles and takes another sip of wine. “So what brought you into the flower shop?”

“Oh…” Maya looks honest-to-god embarrassed. “There’s just...someone at work I was thinking about asking to dinner. Nothing important.”

Pepper’s not sure what she was expecting Maya’s answer to be, but definitely not that. “Oh really?” she asks, her tone light and teasing. “Good for you. What’s he like?”

If possible, Maya looks even more embarrassed. “She’s one of the researchers. She’s nice. She kind of, um...reminds me of you, actually.”

“I don’t know that ‘nice’ is how most people would describe me,” Pepper says with a self-conscious laugh. “But thanks.”

“Pleasant, then,” Maya says. “And capable. She knows what she’s doing. And she’s very take-no-shit. I assume you’re still like that?” She’s grinning now. 

“I’d like to think so,” agrees Pepper, polishing off the last of her own salad. “And I’m flattered. It’s been really nice talking to you, Maya.” She says this practically every day, but this time she actually means it. 

“You too,” Maya says, sounding a bit like she’s surprised by that. “Feels like old times. Whatever those are.”

“It does,” agrees Pepper. Then she rummages in her purse for a pen and writes her number on a napkin. “I don’t know if you’re totally off the grid or what, but if you want to do this again, text me, alright?”

“Sure,” Maya says, grabbing the napkin. “If you look me up, don’t go broadcasting my whereabouts, alright?”

“Hawthorne with an E, right?”

“Yup. I thought it was appropriately ironic.”

“I don’t think I ever had to read that book,” Pepper confesses. “But I saw the Demi Moore movie years ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Maya snorts. “That movie’s pretty bad.”

They both laugh, and Pepper feels more at ease than she has months. “Well,” Pepper says, waving to the waiter for the check, “I’m glad I ran into you today, Maya Hawthorne.”

—-

She’s so busy, she doesn’t think about Maya again until a text pops up on her phone a few weeks later. _Can I get your opinion as a professional art curator?_

She’s actually not doing much at the moment - Morgan’s on a class trip to the aquarium and, for once, she doesn’t have any fires to put out at work. _Sure._

The next texts Maya sends her are three pictures: Dali’s _The Temptation of Saint Anthony,_ O’Keefe’s _The Lawrence Tree_ , and de Lempicka’s _Young Lady With Gloves._ _Trying to decide which to get for my office. I love the Dali but I feel like it might be a bit over the top._

 _The de Lempicka,_ Pepper texts back after a moment. _It’s visually interesting but it only unsettles you a little._

 _Oh good, you get it,_ Maya replies. _If my office decor can’t unsettle people a little then what’s the point?_

Pepper snorts and types, _Very true. It’s nice to talk with someone who knows more than three artists._

_Definitely._

The conversation should end there, but instead, on an impulse, Pepper sends: _Hey, weird question but the MOMA’s exhibit on Niki de Saint Phalle is starting next week, would you be interested in going with me? She’s a French-American painter and sculptor and I feel like you’d enjoy her work._

And then a second later, once the uncertainty has set in, _No pressure._

Maya doesn’t answer right away, and then a couple of urgent emails come in, and then she has a meeting with some shareholders, and then marketing has a couple of designs they need her to look at _right now_. So it’s almost three hours later that she finally checks her texts again and sees that Maya replied, _My weekends are, shockingly, free for the foreseeable future, and I love de Saint Phalle, so absolutely yes._

They settle on a Sunday three weeks after the exhibit opens - soon enough that they’ll avoid summer tourist crowds, but far away enough that it shouldn’t be as busy. Pepper smiles as she adds it to her calendar. It’s been a long time since she’s been able to go out and do something fun; this will be good for her.

Maya only texts her twice more in the next couple of weeks, once to send her a meme about being a female CEO (which does make Pepper laugh) and once to confirm their meeting time. She doesn’t push for Pepper’s time or act overly familiar with her. It’s refreshing.

Two hours before she’s supposed to meet Maya at the museum, the sitter she hired for the day calls, sounding like absolute hell. Pepper is of course gracious and offers to pay her regardless, because it’s not like this woman caught pneumonia on purpose. But now she’s in a bit of a bind.

She’d ask Rhodey, because he and Morgan adore each other, but he’s in Washington handling some kind of summit with Sokovian ambassadors. Happy’s got a real day off for the first time in several months, and the last time they’d talked he’d sounded so excited about it (apparently he’s taking his girlfriend for a couple’s massage) that she feels terrible even considering asking him. She runs her fingers through her hair and lets out an exasperated sigh. 

“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Morgan asks. Apparently she’s not as absorbed in drowning her pancakes in syrup as Pepper thought. 

“Ms. Sawyer isn’t coming to watch you today after all,” Pepper says, trying to sound upbeat. “She’s sick.”

“Oh.” Morgan frowns. “But you’re supposed to go to the museum with your friend today. What about me?”

“I’m not sure, honey,” Pepper says, scrolling through her contacts hoping someone’s name will jump out at her. Unfortunately most of them are work contacts, or even worse, Tony’s friends - not exactly “emergency childcare” material. Bruce would be too anxious, Scott doesn’t pick up, Maria’s made her (negative) position on babysitting very clear… 

“What if I come with you?” Morgan asks, her face lighting up with her own brilliant idea. “I like the art museum!”

She does (Happy had taken her as a special treat on her sixth birthday), but sending her there with a permissive uncle is one thing. Bringing her along to meet Maya...that feels different somehow, though Pepper can’t put her finger on why. “I don’t know, honey,” she says. “I’d be afraid you’d get bored. The exhibit we’re going to look at isn’t specifically for kids.”

Morgan pouts slightly. “Mommy, I’m almost seven. I’m not a baby.”

“I know you’re not,” Pepper says, smiling despite her anxiety. “Let me call my friend and see what she thinks, okay? If it doesn’t work out, we’ll reschedule and you and I can find something else fun to do today.”

“I think the art museum sounds like fun,” Morgan says pointedly, folding her arms across her chest. 

Pepper has to suppress her eyeroll as she finds Maya’s number. “Hey,” Maya says. “Sorry, I slept through my alarm, what’s up?” Her voice is a little thick and slurred, like the phone call woke her up. It sounds nice. 

“Sorry to wake you. We’ve run into a bit of a snag.” Pepper explains the situation. “I totally understand if you’d rather reschedule. Not a big deal at all.”

Maya yawns. “No, honestly, I’m fine with you bringing Morgan. I can’t imagine your kid is anything but perfect.” Pepper can hear the teasing smile in her voice. 

“Remember she’s Tony’s too,” Pepper says with a chuckle. “That mostly just means she asks a million questions, but y’know.”

“Are you talking about me?” Morgan asks, sounding indignant. “It’s _rude_ to talk about someone in front of them!”

Pepper hears Maya laugh at the other end of the phone and she puts it on mute for a second to say, “Yes, you’re right, I’m sorry, honey,” before saying to Maya, “Well, if you’re sure. We don’t have to stay that long either, although she actually loved that museum when Happy took her last year. And this exhibit seems like it’ll be interesting for her.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Maya says firmly. “I need to go out and do something with someone today. That coworker I told you about, she turned me down.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Pepper frowns. 

“Eh, I’ll be alright. But I’d prefer my weekend not to be a total bust. You two can duck out whenever you need to.”

“Well, alright. We’ll see you in a couple hours then.” Pepper hangs up and looks over at Morgan, who is staring at her expectantly. “Okay, we’re all going to the museum.”

Morgan shrieks and throws her hands in the air, and Pepper sighs as her fork goes flying. “But I expect you to be on your _best_ behavior, okay?” she asks, trying for stern. “We’ll bring some books and your tablet in case you get tired of looking at the art, and we’re only going for a couple of hours, and I need to be able to see you the _whole_ time. You hear me, Morgan H Stark?”

“Yes,” Morgan says, nodding seriously. “Who are we going with again?”

“Her name is Maya,” Pepper says, going into the kitchen to grab some snacks for the day. “She’s...an old friend.”

“Did she know Daddy?”

Pepper pauses, not quite sure how to respond. Morgan talks about Tony sometimes, though mostly with her therapist, and Pepper hasn’t wanted to push it. “Yeah,” she says finally, “she worked with Daddy a little bit.”

“On robots?” 

“No, she worked with human genetics. You know your DNA book, how we talked about why you have brown eyes and brown hair?” Morgan nods and Pepper continues, “Maya was trying to figure out how to help people who were missing body parts like hands. She was seeing if they could grow them back.” 

Morgan’s eyes get huge. “Wow! Like a lizard?”

“Kind of, yeah.” 

“Mommy?”

Pepper looks over her shoulder, debating between peanut butter puffs and trail mix. “Yes?” 

“What are we gonna see at the art museum?”

“Here, they have some pictures.” Pepper pulls up the page on the museum’s website and shows them to her. “The artist’s name is Niki de Saint Phalle, she made a lot of sculptures but also some paintings.” 

Morgan wrinkles her nose and giggles. “Why are they all different colors? That looks funny.”

“I think she just wanted to be unique and interesting.” Pepper shrugs. “Maybe the exhibit will tell us why. I think it has a lot of pictures of her sculptures because they’re in other countries, but also some models of them that she used while she was making them.” Morgan nods. “Now how about you go find that fork you accidentally threw earlier, and then go upstairs and pick out some books to bring with us? I’m going to shower.”

Morgan chirps “Okay!” and jumps out of her chair, bringing Pepper the missing fork before dashing upstairs on all fours. 

A couple hours later, they’re in the car on the way to the museum. Morgan’s wearing, well, not the outfit Pepper would have picked (bright green romper with a white flower on the front, lavender jacket with ruffle sleeves, pink tights, and leopard-print flats), but when she’d asked politely, “Are you sure those are the shoes you want to wear, honey?” Morgan had just nodded and said, “These are my fancy shoes.” She looks a little like a walking sorbet dish, but adorably so, so Pepper didn’t see the point in asking her to change. 

Pepper has the driver let them out a block down, because even though she’s not _really_ a celebrity on the same level as even Tony, she doesn’t want to cause a scene in front of the museum. As they walk, Morgan is quiet, apparently a little overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the city. 

Maya steps out from the overhang at the museum’s entrance, waving a bit. Pepper waves back. “Hi,” she says, not sure what to say next, but then she’s distracted when Morgan immediately throws her arms around Maya’s leg. 

“Hi!” Morgan says eagerly, smiling up at Maya. “I’m Morgan!”

Maya seems a little taken aback, but to her credit she just laughs a bit and says, “I thought you might be, yeah. I’m Maya. Nice to see you again, Pepper.”

“Nice to see you too,” Pepper says, gently tugging Morgan away. “Sorry, she’s really excited.”

“Hey, museums are exciting.” Maya grins. “You two ready to go inside?”

“Yes!” Morgan says, bouncing a little and then turning toward the entrance. “C’mon!” 

“Hold my hand, please,” Pepper says, reaching out for her. Morgan grabs it, but then starts immediately tugging her inside. “Well, I guess I asked for that,” she laughs. 

“Hey, she’s excited about art,” Maya says. “Can’t complain about that.”

The exhibit is mostly composed of pictures and sketches from de Saint Phalle’s sculpture garden Tarot Garden and a few of her paintings, but as mentioned on the website, there is a section of the models she used. Morgan gravitates toward these immediately. “Please stay where I can see you, Morgan,” Pepper calls, and Morgan gives her a thumbs up in return. The exhibition wing isn’t even that big, but Pepper knows the kind of mischief an almost seven-year-old can get up to unattended. Luckily, Morgan seems more than content to stare up in awe at the sculptures, her hands behind her back like Happy taught her on their last museum visit. 

“I’d love to see this place for real someday,” Maya says, pausing to look more closely at a sketch of an enormous waterfall fountain where the mouth is a face. “I went to Rome once for a conference, but I didn’t really have time for sightseeing.”

Pepper nods. “That would be incredible. I’d only ever seen a few pictures of her work before, to be honest.”

“She was popular, but fairly controversial while she was alive,” Maya says, nodding towards a cartoonish painting of two faces in a heart that’s captioned “AIDS - YOU CAN’T CATCH IT HOLDING HANDS.” “I’m glad she’s having a bit of a resurgence lately. She designed jewelry based on some of her work in the seventies, and I’d love to get my hands on some of it, but it costs…” She chuckles. “Well, probably nothing for you, actually, but way too much for me to justify spending on a hobby.”

Pepper snorts. “Tony was the one who cared about expensive purchases, not me.” Then she frowns. “That sounds defensive, sorry.”

“Oh, I was kidding,” Maya says. “I just remembered that giant rabbit he bought you and wanted to ride your ass about it a little, that’s all.”

“Oh Jesus.” Pepper can’t help but giggle. “I still have no idea what he was thinking with that. But after that I gave him _very_ specific instructions about what to buy me as gifts.”

“Yeah, you don’t really seem like the giant stuffed animal type. What about her?” Maya nods to where Morgan is holding up her tablet, carefully taking pictures of one of the models. 

“Mm, I don’t think she knows giant stuffed animals exist, and I’d rather she didn’t. They’d be a nightmare to clean. Besides, she’s got Gerald and Betty, although we obviously can’t keep them here in the city.” At Maya’s raised eyebrows, she explains, “Alpacas. Tony’s idea, but Morgan loves them, so they’re still out at the farm with a caretaker and we go see them every couple of weeks. We sell the wool at a discount to a few small businesses since we really don’t need much of it. I made Morgan a few scarves and a blanket, but I’m really not suited for knitting.”

Maya’s eyebrows stay raised. “I really didn’t see you as the knitting type. More crosswords or sudoku.”

“Those too, sometimes,” Pepper admits. “It was...an experiment. I needed something to keep my hands busy during my downtime.”

“That’s cute,” Maya says, and it doesn’t sound patronizing the way it might from someone else. 

It’s embarrassing to admit, but these days Pepper doesn’t get to talk to very many adults who aren’t directly tied to Stark Industries or SHIELD. And, while she’d never want to upset her professional contacts or friends-that-are-also-Tony’s-friends, it’s _really_ nice spending some time with someone who just wants to hang out and talk about art, or whatever crosses their minds. Maya’s sense of humor is more acerbic than hers, but Pepper finds herself laughing a lot. She’s honestly not sure how interesting she is, as company goes, but Maya doesn’t seem to mind. 

They spend maybe an hour in the gallery before agreeing to move on. “Anything else you want to see while we’re here?” Maya asks. 

Pepper glances down at Morgan, who’s flipping through the (literally several hundred - her tablet’s camera button is very sensitive) pictures she’s taken today. “We should probably try and eat pretty soon, if that’s alright with you.”

“Oh, sure.” Maya shrugs good-naturedly. “I can get out of your hair if that’s easier.”

“No!” Pepper insists, loudly enough that Morgan looks up from her tablet in confusion. “I mean, no, you’re welcome to join us, of course. I’m afraid we might not end up at the most upscale of places, but-”

Maya laughs so hard she actually snorts. “You think _I’m_ upscale? Pepper, I practically live on Ramen and peanut butter when I’ve got a deadline.”

“Ramen and peanut butter are good,” Morgan chimes in, beaming up at her. “Daddy used to eat a lot of that too. You knew my daddy, right?”

Maya’s eyes widen slightly and she glances at Pepper, as if asking for permission. Pepper nods, trusting Maya not to say anything too confusing. “I did, yeah,” Maya says. “I used to work with him a little. I’m betting you know what DNA is, right?” Morgan nods. “Well, I was working with human DNA. Your dad helped me figure out a solution to a problem I was having.”

“Mommy told me,” Morgan says, nodding. “Did it work? Did people grow their arms back like lizards?”

Maya is clearly doing her best to keep her face straight. “Not really, unfortunately. I had to switch to working with plants. Now I help figure out how to help plants grow strong and healthy.”

“Oh.” Morgan looks disappointed. “That’s boring. I’d want to try it and see if I could get a third arm!”

Pepper coughs. “Remember what I said about not saying things are boring even if _you_ think they’re boring?”

“Oops. Sorry.”

But Maya just laughs. “No, honestly, working with plants _is_ pretty boring. What do _you_ like to do, huh?”

“I like reading books and playing with LEGOs and catching Pokemon and drawing and space and bugs,” says Morgan, all in one breath. 

“Wow.” Maya blinks. “What’s your favorite kind of bug?”

Pepper gently steers Morgan toward the exit. “How about you tell her about the cuckoo wasp while we walk?”

Morgan eagerly launches into an explanation of the bug in question, which is practically made to appeal to children given that it’s both weird and gross (invades the hives of other wasp species to lay eggs inside it, so that the young will hatch and eat the hive’s original occupants) and also looks like it’s made out of shiny jewels. Maya, to her credit, listens with rapt attention and asks a couple of follow-up questions, which Morgan is all too happy to answer. (She’s already read her _Super Bug Encyclopedia_ cover to cover three times since getting it for Christmas, and Pepper’s pretty sure most of her brain is bug facts at this point.) 

They end up at an unassuming diner, ordering a variety of sandwiches (grilled cheese for Morgan, chicken Parmesan panini for Pepper, BLT for Maya) and a plate of zucchini sticks. “So, Morgan,” says Pepper as they’re waiting for their food, “did you have fun today?”

“Yes!” Morgan says, nodding for emphasis. 

“What was your favorite thing that you saw?” Maya asks, grabbing a zucchini stick.

“The big blue waterfall guy,” Morgan says immediately. “It was really weird but I wanted to climb on it.”

“I don’t know if they let you climb on it, but maybe when you’re a little older we could take a special trip to Tarot Garden to see it,” Pepper says. “Maybe when you’re ten.” 

“Ten?” Morgan’s eyes widen in dismay. “But that won’t be in forever!”

“We’ll see,” Pepper adds quickly. “It depends on a lot of things. Italy’s pretty far away.”

“How far is it?”

“When I flew there for work it was a ten hour flight,” Maya says. “That’s a pretty long time to be on a plane.”

Morgan scoffs. “I could do it.” Then her whole face lights up with an idea. “Wait, Mommy, couldn’t you fly us there faster in your Rescue suit?” 

Pepper, regretting mentioning the idea at all, glances over at Maya and makes a “can you believe the ideas this kid comes up with?” face. Maya is trying very hard not to laugh, which Pepper doesn’t blame her for because Morgan’s persistence is pretty funny. “But you don’t have a suit, honey,” Pepper points out. “It’s not safe for you to fly that high without a suit.”

Morgan sighs dramatically. “Duh, I _know_ that! I’m gonna make one for me too!”

“Oh, are you?” Pepper smiles fondly. “Okay, well, if you make yourself a suit then we’ll talk about using them to fly to Italy, deal?”

Just then their food arrives, and in the commotion Maya leans over to Pepper and says softly, “You know that’s a _challenge_ for a kid like that, right?” 

“Of course,” Pepper murmurs. “I’m honestly shocked it took her this long to come up with the idea of making her own suit.”

“You’re not...I don’t know, worried she’s gonna hurt herself trying?”

“She can’t get into Tony’s labs by herself, so the most damage she can do is rope someone into helping her make a prototype out of cardboard.” 

Maya shrugs, grabbing her sandwich. “Good point, I guess.”

After lunch, the car is waiting for them outside, and Maya leans down to give Morgan a proper hug. “It was nice to meet you, Morgan,” she says. “I’m glad you had fun today.” 

Morgan nods excitedly. “Thank you for letting me come even if I wasn’t supposed to.”

Maya chuckles. “I’m glad you got to come. Good luck on your suit.”

“Thanks!” Morgan says, waving as Pepper helps her into the backseat. 

Once Morgan’s buckled in, Pepper shuts the door and turns back to Maya. “Thanks for being so flexible today,” she says. “I know it’s sort of weird when you plan an adult date and then kids complicate things.” She hadn’t really meant to say date, but Maya will understand. She meant a friendly date, with friends, that’s all.

“Morgan is delightful, I promise. And I really did have fun hanging out today.”

“Good. I did too.” Pepper hesitates. “I know both our schedules are kind of weird, but would you want to do something else soon? ”

Maya’s eyebrows twitch and she smirks a little. “You’ve bought me lunch twice now, let me treat you next time, alright?”

“Oh.” Laughing, Pepper nods. “If you insist.”

“D’you like movies? I know of a cool indie theater that makes killer popcorn.”

“I do like movies. Text me showtimes and I think I can get away for a couple hours.”

“I look forward to it.”

\---

So, the thing is that Pepper hasn’t really thought about dating again, after Tony. It seems like it’d be just one more thing on the pile, what with the company and Morgan and all. But now there’s Maya. 

Maya, who asks her if she wants to go see that new French drama that everyone’s raving about. Maya, who orders a bottle of wine for them during the movie and then, after it turns out to be terrible, admits in a breathy whisper that she has no idea how to select wine and just picked the one that “sounded fanciest.” Maya, who slips out of the theater to order them both martinis instead, while Pepper tries to stifle her laughter.

The martini Maya brings back is perfect. Her fingers brush Pepper’s when she hands her the glass, and Pepper smiles at her and takes a long sip.

“I really am sorry,” Maya says, laughing as they leave the theater later. “I should have gone with my first instinct and googled the wines.”

“It honestly wasn’t the worst I’ve ever had.”

“Jesus, that’s hard to imagine.” Maya glances at her phone. “You up for getting something to eat or do you need to get home?”

It’s seven thirty, and Pepper could call her driver now. That would be the responsible thing to do - she has an early meeting, after all. But hell, she’s tired of being responsible all the time. “No, I can stay out a little longer.”

They end up in a quiet pub with mediocre food and cheap beer. “This is nice,” Pepper says, finishing her second glass. “Just being, y’know, out doing things. Not worrying about Morgan or work stuff or anything SHIELD-related at all.”

“They don’t still have you involved in all that, do they? I thought that was more Tony’s thing.”

“It was, but since he built the compound I somehow end up getting called occasionally. It’s usually just Rhodey or Fury, at least.”

Maya snorts. “Well, here’s to an evening off from everything.” She winks at Pepper. 

Pepper’s not _drunk_ , but she’s lost her tolerance after not drinking much for a few years and she’s feeling a little pleasantly fuzzy. It’s hard to tell if her heart is beating faster because of that, or because of the wink. “Thank you,” she says. “For inviting me out tonight.”

Maya looks a little surprised. “Sure. You seem like you could use a break. I’m happy to help with that.”

Nodding, Pepper eats her last few fries. “Rhodey’s always telling me to take more time off. I can’t, at least not right now, but it’s nice that he cares. And that you care.”

“Of course. It’s the least I can do when I almost got your husband killed.”

Pepper shakes her head. “That wasn’t you. That’s just how he was. I’m kind of surprised we had as long as we did, to be honest. Tony was always two steps from one heroic sacrifice or another.”

“Idiot,” Maya says with a laugh. “Sorry. I should be more respectful.”

“No,” says Pepper with a short. “He never was. He’d think it was funny, to be honest, you and I hanging out now.”

Maya smirks. “Good. We may have parted on weird terms but I don’t actually have anything against him, you know.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you did. He was...complicated.” Pepper downs the rest of her drink. “By the way, is this a date?” She could let this continue on, even do a few more of these maybe-dates before she finally broaches the topic. But hell, if she’s learned anything, it’s that nobody’s promised any time, and you might as well ask for what you want.

The question clearly startles Maya. “Do you want it to be?” 

Pepper considers for a moment, and finds herself noticing what a nice shade of dark brown Maya’s eyes are. “Not if you don’t want it to be,” she says. “But...I figured it was worth asking.”

“Then, yeah, it’s a date,” Maya says. “I didn’t want to push, I know things are weird for you right now. Have been weird, I guess. But I like you and I’d like to keep doing stuff like this with you.”

Pepper smiles. “I’d really like that too.”

“That sounded so weird and stiff, sorry,” Maya adds with a laugh. “I haven’t dated in awhile, not sure if you could tell. And we don’t have to rush into anything.”

“No, this - this is good.” Pepper reaches over and puts her hand on Maya’s. “It’s been awhile for me too, obviously. Almost...god, fifteen years? Something like that.” 

“At least we’re on the same page.” Maya gives her a mischievous look. “So, are you a kissing on the first date kind of woman?”

She’s not, usually, but this doesn’t feel like a first date. “Why don’t you wait and find out?”

They talk a bit more - Maya, as it turns out, is a USWNT fan. “I don’t actually understand soccer,” she admits sheepishly, “but I like watching the games anyway. I just never tell anyone because if they actually try to talk to me about soccer as a sport, I’ll sound like an idiot.”

Pepper shrugs. “Don’t worry, I don’t know anything about soccer at all. You could tell me anything and I’d believe you.”

“Noted. An ex actually got me into it. I think he just liked watching me watch it - he was weird about me being bisexual, but hey, he’s long gone and I’m still watching it.” 

“Good riddance,” says Pepper with a smile. “I’d watch a game with you sometime.”

“I’d like that.”

Her phone lights up - it’s a text from Happy, asking when she’ll be back. “I’d better call the car,” she sighs. “It’s almost nine.”

“Shit.” Maya looks at her own phone. “Yeah, I should get home too. I hope the subway’s not too crazy.”

“Please, let me take you home,” Pepper insists. “It’s late.” She also doesn’t want Maya to leave just yet, but she’ll keep that to herself. It seems a little needy.

Maya seems surprised, but nods.

When the car arrives, Maya gives the driver her address and then says to Pepper, “Sorry in advance, it’s kind of a shithole from the outside. Inside’s okay, though.”

“I’m sure I’ve lived in worse,” Pepper says. “Remind me to dig out some photos of my first apartment sometime. The building got condemned right after I moved out.”

Maya lets out a low whistle. “Alright, you win.”  
  
  


When they pull up to the building, Pepper gets out and walks Maya to her building. “Thanks for tonight.”

“Thank _you_. I’m glad you had fun.”

“I did,” Pepper says, and then she leans over and kisses Maya. 

It starts out just a sweet goodnight kiss. Then Maya reaches up to cup Pepper’s cheek with her hand and Pepper steps forward to wrap her arms around Maya and Maya lets out a quiet little gasp as Pepper traces her lips with her tongue. It feels good, though. It’s been awhile since Pepper’s heard that kind of noise. 

They don’t make out for very long before the building’s door opens, which startles them apart. “Oh, sorry,” says the guy who opened the door, sidling past them awkwardly. 

Maya laughs. “I should let you go.”

“I should go,” Pepper agrees. “But thanks. I’ll text you.”

“Okay.” Maya watches her walk back to the car before going inside. 

When she gets home, Happy is watching something on PBS because of course he is. “You were gone awhile,” he says by way of conversation. “Must’ve had fun with Ms. Hawthorne, huh?”

“I did.” Pepper hesitates, then says, “I think we’ll be going out again soon, just so you know. We haven’t talked about when.”

Happy turns to look at her, then sees the look on her face. “Wait, like...hold on, was that a date? Pepper, did you go on a _date_?”

“I didn’t know it at the beginning, but yes. Don’t get weird, okay?” She smiles at him teasingly. “I’m allowed to see people, and I like her.”

“Of course, I just...huh.” He seems to be putting some pieces together. “Anyway, Morgan’s out like a light. Kid’s a master negotiator, she wrangled two bedtime stories out of me.”

Pepper snorts. “Sounds about right. Thanks for watching her.”

“Always a pleasure.” Happy shuts off the TV and stands up, nodding. “Good night, Pepper. Glad your date went well.”

Before she gets into bed, she texts Maya _good night_ , opting not to use any emojis since it seems like overkill. Good call, since Maya’s response is just _sleep well_. And she does.

\---

She doesn’t say anything to Morgan right away. The articles all tell her not to introduce a new partner to kids until at least six months in, which obviously doesn’t quite apply in this situation since Maya and Morgan have already met, but she figures waiting a few months while they’re still figuring themselves out can’t hurt anything. 

Unfortunately, she forgot that Morgan is remarkably perceptive. 

“Mommy, do you have a boyfriend?” she asks while they’re eating dinner, after about three months of dating Maya. 

Pepper chokes on the water she was sipping. Once she’s recovered, she says quickly, “Why do you ask that, honey?”

Morgan narrows her eyes in suspicion. “You smile a lot. You go out at night and leave me with babysitters more. And also Uncle Happy said you were on a date.”

Pepper tries to keep the flash of irritation off her face. “Oh, did he? What did he say exactly?”

“I asked where you went last time he was here, and he said ‘oh, your mom’s on a lunch date.’ And I said ‘like with a boy?’ and he said ‘not quite, but don’t tell her I told you, okay?’ And then he bought me ice cream.” Morgan looks very smug at this. 

“Jesus Christ, Happy,” Pepper mutters under her breath, then sighs. “Honey, Uncle Happy was right, I was on a date. And I am seeing someone, but it’s not a boy. It’s a girl.”

“Oh.” Morgan furrows her brow. “So you like girls like Aunt Maria?” 

“I like both boys and girls,” Pepper says, “and other kinds of people too, sometimes. You know how Uncle Scott told you all about his girlfriend Hope, but also he’s dating Luis? It’s kind of like that.”

“Oh, okay.” Morgan shrugs and takes another bite of her waffle. “So you have a girlfriend?” she asks around the waffle.

“Chew and swallow before you talk, please,” Pepper says.

Morgan grumbles, but does, and then asks the question again.

“I do have a girlfriend,” Pepper says, because the jig is clearly up. “Do you remember Maya, who we went to the museum with a few months ago? We weren’t dating back then, but we are now.”

“Oh!” Morgan nods. “I like her. She was nice. And she let me talk about bugs. Can she come over and help me build my suit sometime?”

“I was hoping you’d forgotten about that,” Pepper sighs. “We’ll see, okay? We might go out to dinner soon, all three of us.”

Maya finds the entire thing hilarious when Pepper calls to tell her about it. “I thought Happy was your head of security,” she giggles. “And he just immediately spills the beans?”

“Believe me, I gave him an earful earlier,” Pepper says, rolling her eyes. “Morgan seems to be okay with it though. She wants you to come over and help her work on that suit she’s building.”

“It’s not my area of expertise at all, but I’ll give it a try. Also, hey, was today the first time you called me your girlfriend?”

“Not on purpose,” Pepper says, tucking some hair behind her ear self-consciously. “I don’t talk about my private life with too many people.”

“Don’t worry, just yanking your chain,” teases Maya. “So when am I coming over to hang out with you guys? Sounds all domestic and shit.”

“Well, I know Morgan won’t stop pestering me until I give her a timeframe, so how about next weekend sometime? Saturday?”

“I’ll be counting the days,” Maya says playfully.

Pepper knows she was joking, but Morgan literally announces each morning at breakfast how many days there are until Maya’s visit. “It’s today!” she says eagerly on Saturday morning. “How much longer?”

“She’ll be here around one, so four hours,” Pepper says, ignoring Morgan’s overdramatic groan. “Plenty of time for somebody to clean their room like I’ve been telling them to do all week.”

“It is clean,” Morgan whines, but as soon as she finishes eating she bolts upstairs. 

Finally Maya rings the doorbell. “Hi,” she says, stepping inside. “I’m sure you get this a lot, but your place is ridiculous.”

“I’m well-aware,” Pepper teases, as a tiny blur runs over to throw itself at Maya. “Morgan, please let Maya take off her shoes before you attack her.”

“Sorry!” yelps Morgan, bouncing back from where she’s wrapped herself around Maya’s leg. “Hi Maya! Can you help me build my suit?”

“I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it, but I’ll try,” Maya says with a nervous laugh.

“Don’t worry,” Pepper says softly, “she has a whole plan. Mostly your role is cutting out the pieces since she’s not strong enough yet.”

“Alright, lead on.” Maya follows Morgan up the stairs, and Pepper goes with them. She figures they can all hang out together. It’s an odd date, but Maya doesn’t seem to mind.

Not quite an hour later, Maya’s dutifully helped cut out the pieces of cardboard that Morgan designated. “I think it’s time for a snack break,” Pepper says, since they had lunch a little early. She stands up from where she’s sat on Morgan’s bed. “Maya, want to help me?”

“Sure.” Maya looks over at Morgan. “Be right back, okay?” Morgan nods, but she’s very focused on drawing plans for rocket boots.

“Thanks for being so cool about this,” Pepper says once they’re downstairs. “I know she can be a lot.”

Maya waves her hand dismissively. “She’s a great kid, I’m having fun. And I like hanging out with you guys. I don’t need to be doing anything fancy.”

“Well, you’re great with her.” Pepper opens the fridge to grab some celery sticks. “The peanut butter and raisins are over in that cupboard, can you grab them?”

“Sure. Am I allowed to have some too?”

Pepper grins. “I think we can manage that.”

After snack time, Morgan continues to work on the suit for another half or or so before she gets frustrated. “Mommy, I can’t figure out how to make it light up,” she says in exasperation.

“I think you’ll need more than cardboard and glue sticks for that,” Pepper says. “How about we take a break and you can think about it while we do something else.”

Morgan’s pouting a little, but she perks up when Maya asks, “Hey, what’s this Sparkle Kitty game you have here?”

“It’s such a fun game! We should play!” Morgan says eagerly. “Mommy, play with us!” 

“Oops,” Maya says with a laugh.

“No, it is a fun game,” Pepper says, carefully arranging herself on the floor. “Why don’t you tell Maya how it works, Morgan?”

Morgan immediately launches into the rules, and they play a few rounds. It’s definitely a kids’ game, but Maya seems to genuinely enjoy it, taking real joy in sabotaging Pepper to steal the win in the second game. “Princess Princess for the win!” she shouts, grabbing the last card off her tower. 

“Wow,” Pepper says in mock-outrage. “You’d do that to your own girlfriend?”

“I would,” Maya says, flashing her a mischievous grin.

She ends up staying for dinner and they decide to order pizza. “Okay, important question for you,” Maya says, “and our relationship might be at stake. Pineapple on pizza, what’s your opinion?”

“I don’t feel strongly enough about it to have one,” Pepper admits. “I will eat literally any kind of pizza topping except one with olives.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed.” Maya laughs. “I like pineapple but all my exes have hated it.”

“I like bacon!” Morgan says loudly.

“Don’t worry, honey, I know what you like.” Pepper punches in their standard pizza (half pepperoni and bacon, half veggies) and adds pineapple onto the veggie half for Maya. “That work for you?” she asks, showing her the phone. “I usually have Morgan eat half of a meat slice and half of a veggie slice.”

“Delicious.”

After dinner Pepper glances at Morgan and says, “Honey, why don’t you go play quietly in your room for a bit? Maya and I are going to hang out downstairs.”

Morgan makes a face. “You mean kiss.” 

“Morgan H Stark!” Pepper scolds her, and the girl runs off giggling. “I swear,” she says, shaking her head.

“It’s cute,” Maya says. “She’s a good kid.”

“She is,” Pepper agrees, grabbing the dishes to put them in the sink. “Let me just clean up from dinner, you can wait on the couch-”

But Maya’s already grabbing her own plate and the salad bowl. “My mother, god rest her soul, or whatever you’re supposed to say, would never forgive me if I didn’t help you clear the table.”

“Alright, alright.” Pepper smiles.

Soon enough, they’re on the couch with two glasses of wine. “I don’t mean to pressure you,” Pepper says, after a lull in the conversation. “About Morgan, I mean. I know we haven’t been together that long and I don’t want you to feel like you have to be okay with something serious if you aren’t.”

Maya rolls her eyes. “Pepper, I wouldn’t have asked you out if I didn’t know what that meant. You’re the least casual person I’ve ever met, no offense.”

That makes Pepper snort-laugh. “Alright, fair enough.”

“I mean it as a good thing,” Maya says with a smirk. Then her expression changes. “I haven’t been serious with a lot of people because most people don’t know, y’know, the full story. But you do. I feel... _safe_ with you, as cheesy as that sounds. Like you, I don’t know, see all of me and you’re okay with that.”

Pepper reaches over to grab Maya’s hand. “I do, and I am.”

“Thank you.” Maya leans against her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all weird and serious on you.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Pepper smiles at her. “Can I kiss you or is that too weird with my kid upstairs?”

“No, please, I-” Maya leans forward to her a slightly more intense kiss than she’d been planning, but she’s not exactly complaining.

They kiss a few times before Pepper whispers, “While we’re getting weird and serious, I swear I didn’t invite you over for this reason, but how would you feel about staying the night tonight?”

Maya grins. “Ooh, spontaneity. I like this side of you.”

“I’m trying it sometimes.” 

“Well...I’d prefer not to be walked in on while doing certain things, but I’m guessing you have a way to avoid that?”

“My bedroom door automatically locks from the inside and only opens for me or if Morgan uses the special password that means someone is bleeding or on fire.”

“Ooh, fancy.” Maya’s eyes are bright and her expression is hungry. “Then, yeah, I’d love to stay the night.”

Pepper wakes up the next morning with literal cold feet, since Maya’s cocooned herself in the blankets in her sleep. It should annoy her, but instead it feels kind of nice.

—-

They go on like that for a couple of years. 

Morgan manages to finish a reasonable cardboard facsimile of her own Iron Man suit just after her eighth birthday. Figuring out how to actually make it fly stumps her, though. “Why can’t I go into Daddy’s lab?” she pleads. “I’ll be super super careful!”

“Because your daddy’s lab was designed for a grown man, not an eight year old,” Pepper says firmly. “I also said if you built a suit we would _talk_ about using them to fly to Italy, not that we would definitely do it.” 

Morgan crosses her arms and pouts. “If Daddy were still alive, he would take me.”

“He probably would,” Pepper agrees. It doesn’t gut her the way it used to when Morgan brings Tony up, even when it’s like this. Her therapist says it’s a very normal thing for kids who have lost a parent, to bring them up in an argument. Pepper’s gotten much better at dealing with that when she does it. “And it would be really irresponsible of him. Anyway, you’d want Maya to come with us, wouldn’t you? And she doesn’t have a suit either.”

“I guess,” Morgan sulks. “But are we _ever_ gonna go?”

“Yes. But not right now.”

Morgan groans dramatically and flops onto her bed. “I hate waiting! It’s so boring!”

“You get that from your dad,” Pepper says, going over to stroke her daughter’s hair. “You get a lot of stuff from him.”

“You always say that,” Morgan mutters, closing her eyes. 

“Because it’s always true.”

Pepper doesn’t make any official announcements for awhile, because why would she, but the press eventually figures it out. They hound them for a couple of awkward weeks, until the next big celebrity scandal distracts them. Luckily, the headlines are pretty tame for the most part - standard STARK CEO DATES MYSTERY WOMAN fare, and the only ones that dare to criticize her for dating “too soon” after Tony’s death are a couple of second-rate trashy tabloids. Pepper finally gives in and prepares a short press release that includes just enough detail to keep them off her back. It gets her a few congratulatory write-ups in some queer press, and then the news cycle moves on.

Maya moves in with them after two and a half years together, without much fanfare. Morgan suggests it, after Maya spends most of a lunch date bitching to Pepper about her current ordeal trying to find another decent place to move to. “Why don’t you just move in with us?” Morgan asks. 

“Oh,” Maya says, looking embarrassed. “I mean, your mom and I haven’t talked about it - it’s not - I’ll figure something out.”

“No,” Pepper says, “actually, she’s right. I won’t be offended if you don’t want to, but we should talk about it. It’s sort of ridiculous that we haven’t.”

“I just wasn’t sure if _you’d_ want to,” Maya says. “But...yeah, I’d like to live with you, if you want me.”

“Of course,” Pepper says, reaching over to grab her hand (despite Morgan making a disgusted noise, because eight-year-olds are hardwired to react to all PDA with disgust).

There’s an adjustment period, of course, but for the most part it goes very smoothly. Happy has been wary of Maya since he first came over to meet her (apparently he’d been there that New Year’s 1999 and has a real memory for faces), but even he starts to be warmer towards her. “I guess she really has changed,” he says to Pepper once. 

“Sometimes people do that,” she says, in a tone that means _please trust my judgment on this._

A few months before Morgan’s tenth birthday, Pepper starts making plans. “You don’t think a weekend trip to Italy is too much for a ten year old’s birthday present, do you?” she asks Maya in a moment of self-doubt. 

Maya scoffs. “Not when the kid’s been talking about it for almost four years. I know you worry about spoiling her, but she’s a good kid and this trip means a lot to her.”

“I know,” Pepper says, sighing and nestling into Maya. “I’m just in my own head about it again.”

“Yeah, that’s what you keep me around for,” Maya teases. “To snap you out of that.”

“That, and some other things,” Pepper says, kissing her. 

When they surprise Morgan with three tickets to Rome, she screams so loudly that Pepper’s shocked the window doesn’t shatter. “Really?” she keeps asking. “We’re really going?”

“Yep,” Pepper says. “See, I promised you we would.”

Morgan’s so excited she jumps up to hug both of them and then immediately has to call her best friend Lunella to share the news. “See,” Maya says, “you’re doing great at this parenting thing.”

Pepper squeezes her hand. “Yeah, well...so are you.”

\---

“Don’t make eye contact,” Pepper mutters to Maya, staring resolutely at her phone. “He’s looking for a reaction. You have to ignore them until they get bored and go away.” She should have expected paparazzi at the airport, although luckily it’s just the one so far. But he’s being irritatingly blatant.

Morgan is holding a book in front of her face so that her middle finger is pointed at the camera. “Hey, Morgan’s got the right idea,” Maya says, tilting her head towards the girl. Morgan grins at her and goes back to reading.

“Someone’s going to call me a bad mom if those pictures get published,” sighs Pepper.

“Maybe, but most people will probably think you’re a kickass mom who taught her kid how to handle the press with grace and dignity,” Maya points out.

“I just saw somebody do this online,” Morgan says. “You should try it, Mom.”

“I’m okay, thanks,” Pepper says firmly.

They plan for a full day at Tarot Garden and then another two days of sightseeing in the city. The park is beautiful, and although Pepper doesn’t take as many pictures as Morgan, she tries to get a few candids of her daughter. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll decide she wants to take pictures for a living instead of building robots,” she jokes to Maya, as Morgan carefully sets up a shot to get as much of the park in it as possible.

Maya snickers. “It would be less dangerous.” Then she glances over at Pepper. “ _We’ll_ get lucky, huh?”

“Of course,” Pepper says, glancing at her in surprise. “I mean you and me.”

“I know, I just…” Maya shrugs. “I guess I hadn’t really thought of myself as parent material before you guys.”

“I definitely think of you that way,” Pepper says. “And I think she does too.”

Maya grins and then swipes at her eyes a few times, muttering, “Geez, allergies,” even though Pepper knows she doesn’t have any. 

That evening in the hotel, when they’re talking about their plans for the next day, Morgan begs to go back to Tarot Garden. “You can drop me off,” she says. “You guys can go do other stuff! I really love it, I want to stay there forever!”

“I’m pretty sure they don’t let ten year olds in the park alone, hon,” Maya says, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

Morgan glares at her. “I’m not a baby. I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, but it’s not allowed,” Pepper says, which makes Morgan let out the world’s most exasperated sigh. “And also we already paid for the catacomb tour.”

“Hey, how about this?” Maya says. “We’ll go back there for a few hours in the morning before we spend the afternoon touring the catacombs.”

“ _Fine,_ ” Morgan says, in an overdramatic ten-year-old way. Maya chuckles and gives her a hug, which Morgan returns. Pepper watches them with a fond smile and ponders.

The next evening, while Maya’s taking a bath in their hotel suite’s absurdly fancy tub, Pepper says, “Morgan, honey, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Morgan looks up from where she’s sprawled on the couch, playing a game on her tablet. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, of course not! Why would you be in trouble?”

“You’re using your serious voice,” Morgan points out. 

“Oh, no, honey, it’s...c’mere.” Pepper pats the bed next to her. “I just have a question for you.”

Morgan gives her a very skeptical look, but climbs up beside her. “So,” Pepper says, “you like Maya, right?”

“Duh,” Morgan says. “She’s your _girlfriend_ , Mom. If I didn’t like her that would suck pretty bad.”

“Don’t say suck, it’s rude,” Pepper says, but it’s more out of habit than anything else. “What if...I wanted to ask her to marry me? What do you think about that?”

Morgan’s quiet for a little while. It’s long enough that Pepper almost regrets asking the question. Then finally, Morgan says quietly, “You’re not doing this to replace Dad, right?”

“Oh, honey.” Pepper lifts up her arm and Morgan burrows into her side. “I could never replace your Dad, okay? I wouldn’t want to. He was a brilliant man and a huge pain in the ass and I love him so much.” Morgan snickers at her use of “ass.” “And I always will. You remind me so much of him, you know. Don’t roll your eyes, I say it all the time because it’s true. Sometimes I’ll look at you and you’ll make a face or you’ll be really focused on something or you’ll say something snarky and it feels like seeing the ghost of your dad in you, just for a second.”

“That’s weird, Mom,” Morgan scoffs, but she doesn’t move.

“I know it’s weird, but it’s true.” Pepper strokes her hair. “The way I love Maya is totally different from the way I love your dad, and it doesn’t mean I love either of them any less. I’d like to marry her, but I don’t want to if it’ll make you unhappy. That’s why I wanted to see how you felt about it.”

Morgan nods. “Can I think about it some more?”

“Of course.” Pepper gives her a gentle squeeze. “We can talk about it more when we get home, if you want.”

“Okay.” Morgan sits up. “I’m going back to my game now.”

“Have fun.”

When Maya gets out of the bath, Pepper’s already changed into pajamas and is curled up in bed reading. “You’ve been thinking too seriously about something,” Maya teases. “I can tell from the look on your face.” 

“Nothing important,” Pepper fibs. 

\---

Pepper doesn’t push Morgan to talk about Maya or Tony, but sometimes she’ll just wander into whatever room Pepper is in and start talking. On the one hand, it’s irritating, but on the other hand it reminds Pepper of Tony and she’s just sentimental enough not to discourage it as much as she should.

“If you guys got married, would you change your last name or would she change hers?” Morgan asks one day while Pepper is folding laundry and half-watching a home renovation show. Maya’s at a work conference for a few days, so it’s just the two of them. “Or, would _I_ have to change my last name?”

“I didn’t change my last name when I married your dad,” Pepper points out, shaking out one of her pajama shirts. “I don’t think I’d change it this time either.”

“Huh. Everybody in this family would have a different last name except me and Dad, and he only kinda counts.” Morgan grins. “That’s pretty funny.” 

“You think so?” Pepper smirks over at her. “I think Pepper Hawthorne sounds like a character in one of those British shows Uncle Happy likes.”

“Yeah, kind of.” Morgan wrinkles her nose. “I like my last name. I don’t want to change it ever.”

“Good news, kid, you don’t have to. You can stay Morgan Stark forever, if you want.”

“Cool.” Morgan watches the TV for a minute, then says, “What would I call Maya if you guys got married?”

“You could just keep calling her ‘Maya.’”

“I guess so. I love her and all, but calling her ‘Mom’ would be weird, ‘cause that’s _your_ name. Stepmom is okay, but you don’t call people that as a name.” 

“I think if you started calling her ‘Stepmom’ instead of her name, she’d refuse to answer,” Pepper says with a laugh. 

“Yeah,” Morgan agrees, standing up. “Would you have a big fancy wedding?”

Pepper snorts. “I did that once already. At this point I just want to go to the courthouse and get the formalities over with.”

“Oh man, Uncle Rhodey would be so mad if you did that and didn’t invite him,” Morgan says gleefully. “He loves parties.”

“Uncle Rhodey can have a big party when _he_ gets married,” Pepper snarks, handing Morgan a pile of clothes. “Here, put these away.” 

Morgan sighs dramatically but starts to head toward the stairs. “Hey Mom,” she calls over her shoulder, “you guys have to bring me to the courthouse, okay? I can be a witness.”

“Sorry, honey, they don’t let ten year olds be witnesses,” Pepper calls. Morgan lets out a “boooo” as she leaves. 

Pepper’s had an idea for the perfect engagement ring ever since their Italy trip - so, now that she’s sure Morgan is okay with the idea, she shops around until she finds a designer willing to take unusual commissions. It takes almost two months for the rings to be finished, but Pepper’s patient.

Mayas not one for grand romantic gestures, and neither is she. So Pepper doesn’t even bother trying to think up some perfect proposal - she just keeps the rings waiting in her nightstand, hidden under a stack of papers.

One night, Pepper comes upstairs after a late meeting with some international clients to see Maya tucked into bed, playing sudoku and waiting for her. “Hey,” Maya says, smiling. “Did the meeting go okay?”

“Fine, just long.” Pepper shuts the door and begins to shuck off her work clothes immediately. “You didn’t have to wait up for me.”

“I know. I wanted to.” Maya wolf-whistles as Pepper takes off her bra and tosses it vaguely in the direction of the ensuite bathroom. “Hey there, sexy.”

“Easy there, killer,” teases Pepper. “I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet.”

“I think I can handle bad breath, Pep.”

Pepper had been planning on getting home and passing out, but she takes one look at Maya’s face and finds her second wind.

Later, when they’re both sweaty and satisfied, Pepper decides fuck it and reaches for her nightstand drawer. “What are you doing?” Maya asks. “I figured we’d actually sleep now.”

“Just a second,” Pepper says, curling her fingers around the box. “I have a question for you.”

Maya’s eyes go wide as Pepper turns back toward her, holding the ring box. “Are you…is that...?”

“Well, I figured you wouldn’t want a whole production,” Pepper says, “but...I love you. I wasn’t sure if I’d get the chance to say that again, before we met, and that would have been fine, but now I have you. You’re brilliant and funny and brave and you’re so great with Morgan and I’d really like to make this official, if you would.” She holds out the ring box. “Marry me?”

Maya still looks slightly taken aback. “Pepper, I…”

“Open it,” Pepper says. “Before you say anything, just open it.”

Maya does, and she gasps. “Is this…?” She pulls out one of the two matching rings inside, molded in the shape of two tiny snakes wrapped around each other. It doesn’t have a big gemstone, only little ones for the snakes’ eyes, but Maya doesn’t care about gemstones. Judging from her expression, she cares _very_ much about this ring, though. “Oh my god.”

Pepper nods, heart in her throat. “Based on the de Saint Phalle bracelet, yeah. I commissioned them for us.”

Maya’s still staring at the ring, and for a terrible second Pepper worries she’s miscalculated. Then Maya turns to her and kisses her so fiercely that Pepper forgets to breathe. 

“Yes,” she whispers once she ends the kiss. “Hell yes I’ll marry you, Pepper Potts.”

\---

They get married the following April. The courthouse wedding is small and casual, just how they both like it. Happy, Rhodey and Maya’s friend Joan are the only ones in attendance, besides Morgan. Neither of them bother with white dresses - Pepper’s is a sleek dark blue and Maya opts for one that’s shorter and scarlet. The officiant is a cheerful Black woman who seems to genuinely enjoy her job and compliments them both on the choice of dresses and rings. Rhodey films the whole thing, since they know that the rest of the team will want to see it. 

Their honeymoon involves as many European art museums and landmarks as they can get to in a week. “You guys are nuts,” Rhodey teases when Pepper shows him their itinerary the night before they leave. “I thought you were supposed to want to relax on your honeymoon.”

“This is relaxing for her,” Maya says cheerfully. “And for me too, honestly.”

“I just want to make sure we get to see everything,” Pepper says, rolling her eyes. 

“Well, you guys have fun with your crazy schedule. We’re gonna have a totally normal time here and not eat ice cream for breakfast at all.” Rhodey gives Morgan an exaggerated wink, and she grins at him.

Pepper hasn’t really taken much time off since she came back to the city, so the week in Europe really is a much-needed break. It’s nice to just be with her wife - her _wife,_ she’s still getting used to that - looking at breathtaking art all day. 

When they return, things basically go back to normal. Maya’s taken to calling her “wife” in a mixture of genuine affection and irony, and she eventually joins in. The first time they do it in front of Morgan, she makes a dramatic gagging noise and declares it “super gross.”

They’ve been married a few weeks and are climbing into bed one night when Maya says, “Shit, Mother’s Day is tomorrow.”

“Is it?” Pepper glances at her calendar. “Wow, that snuck up on me.”

Maya bursts into giggles. “I’m a terrible wife. I didn’t do anything for you.”

“Well, I didn’t either, obviously,” Pepper says dryly. “It’s a made up holiday, anyway.”

“All holidays are made up,” Maya counters. “But fair point.”

“Morgan might have remembered,” Pepper muses as she lays down. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

Sure enough, when she wakes up, she can smell something cooking downstairs. She doesn’t get very far down the stairs before Morgan spots her and yelps, “Don’t come down yet! I’m making you guys breakfast!” Nothing appears to be on fire, so Pepper chuckles and goes back to bed as instructed.

She doesn’t have to wait long before Maya wakes up. “Something smells good,” she mumbles, rubbing her eyes. 

“Yep. Morgan’s bringing us breakfast, I think. She’s asked us to stay up here.” Pepper leans over to kiss Maya. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Maya says sleepily, sitting up. “I guess she remembered, then.”

Pepper nods. “Honestly, if whatever she made isn’t edible I might put her in charge of breakfast more often.”

Soon enough, there’s a tap on the closed door and Morgan calls, “Are you guys ready?”

“Yeah, c’mon in, hon,” Maya calls. 

Morgan opens the door holding a tray with two plates full of breakfast food. “I made pancakes and bacon and eggs,” she says proudly. “Happy Mother’s Day.”

“Ooh, that looks good.” Maya takes the tray and settles it across their laps. “Thank you, Morgan.”

“Also here.” Morgan shoves an envelope at Pepper .”This is for both of you.”

The card inside says “I can safely confirm that out of all my parents, you are definitely in my alive top two!” The “alive” has clearly been added by Morgan herself, though she did copy the font remarkably well. 

“Oh my god,” Maya gasps. She’s covering her mouth like she’s not sure she’s allowed to laugh at it. 

Pepper gives her permission by bursting into laughter herself. “Where did you find this, Morgan?”

“Online.” Morgan’s grinning. “Uncle Happy ordered it for me.”

“It’s perfect,” says Maya. Her eyes are a little bright, though Pepper can’t tell if it’s from tears of laughter or something else. “Thanks, kid.”

Morgan leans over to hug first Pepper, then Maya. “Now eat before your eggs get cold,” she says. “I’m gonna go get my food, you guys better get all your gross kissing over with before I get back.”

“We’ll do our best,” Maya calls as she darts out of the room. She wipes her eyes and looks over at Pepper. “I think we’re doing an okay job with that one.”

“She’s pretty great,” Pepper agrees, leaning over for a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They do not, in fact, finish kissing before Morgan comes back upstairs. 


End file.
